Rachel is spending the holiday break with her dad and soon-to-be step-monster, Ellie. Thank goodness her BFF Marisol gets to come with. But when Rachel meets a new group of kids and realizes she can leave her loser status back home, quirky Marisol gets left behind. Bored and abandoned, Marisol starts a Gossip File, collecting info on the locals. When the gossip includes some dirt on Ellie, Rachel has to decide if getting the truth is worth risking her new cool-girl persona...

I’m Anna Staniszewski. I was born in Warsaw,
Poland and moved to the US with my family just before I started first grade.
Now I live just outside of Boston.

Did you always want to be a writer? If
not what did you want to be?

I’ve been writing since early elementary
school, and by about 5th grade I decided I was going to be an author
one day. At that time I also wanted to be a teacher, an astronaut, and a
ballerina. These days I’m both an author and a teacher, so I think I’ve done
pretty well on realizing my dreams. (Maybe the astronaut one will still happen
one day!)

Do you work another job as well as your
writing work?

In addition to writing, I also teach in
the MFA Writing for Children program at Simmons College. I love teaching
because it gets me out of my house and talking to people who aren’t imaginary.
Plus, it gives me an opportunity to interact with others who love writing as
much as I do.

Which of your books were easier/harder
to write than the others?

I used to think that some books would be
hard and some would be easy, but the truth is, they all come with their own
challenges. The Dirt Diary was fairly
easy in the beginning because I had a strong idea going into it, but refining
and perfecting that idea took a lot of time and revising. With the third book
in the series, The Gossip File, it
took me a while to get to what the heart of the story really needed to be. Once
I figured that out, the last part of the process went more quickly than with
any of my other books.

What can we expect from you in the
future? ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

In July, Sourcebooks will be publishing I’m With Cupid, the first in the
Switched at First Kiss series, about a boy Cupid and a girl Grim Reaper who kiss
at a party and accidentally swap powers. It’s similar to my other books in that
it’s funny and quirky, but it’s also a little bit darker than my other novels,
and it features my first ever boy protagonist. I loved writing this one, and I
hope readers enjoy it!

What genre would you place your books
into?

When people ask me what I write, I say I
write “funny fantasy.” Even though the Dirt Diary books take place in the real
world and don’t have any magical elements to them, I still think of them as “exaggerated
reality.” It’s like real life that’s been turned up a few notches.

Where do you get your book plot ideas
from? What/Who is your inspiration?

It’s amazing how ideas can come from
anywhere. The Dirt Diarywas inspired
by a story I heard on the radio about a girl who had to clean houses with her
mom, including some of the homes of her classmates. I started thinking what it
would be like to have to scrub the popular kids’ toilets, and I knew I had to
write that story! With the other books in the series, I thought of other ways I
could push my character out of her comfort zone and create opportunities for
humor and, of course, embarrassment.

Do you have anybody read your books and
give you reviews before you officially release them?ie. Your partner, children,
friends, reviewers you know?

My husband is my first reader for pretty
much anything I write. He and I have very similar senses of humor, so if he
finds something funny then, chances are, it’s working the way I want it to.
Once he gives me his comments on a manuscript, then I revise and send it to a
few more trusty readers who I can always count on to give me honest and
constructive feedback.

Do you choose a title first, or write
the book then choose the title?

I like to have a working title pretty
early on in the process because it helps to remind me what the heart of the book
is about. Often, though, titles change in the writing/publishing process, so I
try not to get too attached to them.

Do you decide on character traits (ie
shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?

One of the things I love most about
writing is discovering characters as I write about them. There are some traits
that I come up with before I start writing, things I might have observed in
other people or am curious to explore, but once I begin putting characters into
different scenarios, it’s amazing to see little quirks and eccentricities
emerge.

Do you basic plot/plan for your book,
before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and
see where it takes the story?

I used to be a die-hard pantser, meaning
I’d write by the seat of my pants. While this approach was fun, it also meant
it took me a LONG time to finish a book because I had to keep fixing places
where the story had gone off the rails. Now I write a synopsis before I start
drafting, basically a general overview of the story that helps me figure out what
the main emotional moments are going to be. Even though this synopsis changes
as I write the book, having it on hand helps to keep me from getting too far
off track.

Have you ever suffered from a
"writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?

There are certainly days when I don’t
feel like writing, and I’ve found the best thing I can do is be tough on myself
and force myself to write anyway. I’m often amazed at what comes out on days when
I’m feeling least creative. If I’m really stuck, that usually means I haven’t
thought through a character or a certain plot idea as much as I should have.
That’s when I get out a notebook and start brainstorming. Usually, after a few
minutes of that, the juices start flowing again.

What piece of advice would you give to a
new writer?

This sounds so obvious and clichéd, but
I’ve found it’s true: If you want to be a writer then you have to write, no
matter what. Life is always going to get in the way. You’ll never feel like you
have enough time. But if you’re serious about writing then you need to find a
way to make it happen, and don’t stop writing until that book is done.

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About Me

Hi, My name is Sandra, though for my blog I go by an adaptation of my middle name, Jeanz! I live in the UK, started blogging in Aug 2011. I have always loved books!. If a blurb catches my eye I will usually give reading it a go!

About me & my reviews

As of January 2017 all opinions expressed on this blog my own. I do not receive any cash payment for my reviews. I read because we all love reading! Also I no longer use links on my blog through the Amazon Associates Program.